Building Strong Kids - A 5/3/1 Testimonial

Apr 18, 2018

Note from the clergy - we received the following transmission from a dad/coach and hope that our message of strength, independence/freedom and building your own world is being heard around the world. Raise strong kids, mentor strong kids; coach stronger kids; this is how you change the world.

Jim,

First of all, I love your program! I am a reformed crossfitter. Crossfit deservedly receives a lot of criticism. That said, not all boxes are the same and I did learn some valuable stuff in my time at the box I trained at. Just over two years ago I bought your book, built a bad-ass garage gym and will be 5/3/1 forever. The simplistic yet thought out approach is such a liberating path for a guy like me who is a classic “over-thinker.”

Not only have I benefited greatly from following your process, but my two boys (14 & 15) are living NOV and slowly turning into gorillas. They are both 3 sport athletes; although, two of those sports are simply time fillers until football season rolls back around. All three of us love to watch and read the content you put out. As a dad, I greatly appreciate your attitude and candid dialogue about taking responsibility for yourself and avoiding as much bullshit as possible. You serve as a credible backup/verifier of my own message to my knuckle heads. They know that they will never be allowed in our gym again if they ever post some #puttinthework shit on their Instagram pages.

I have been coaching middle school football for the last six years and just recently got my first gig as an assistant HS coach. I will have a small amount of input on the Freshman summer training program. I plan to influence the program with your principles wherever I am allowed. I have coached a lot of marshmallows over the last 6 years. The first couple of years I was constantly frustrated with kids and their willingness to be soft. I soon came to the conclusion that they are simply a product of their environment and being frustrated with them doesn’t change that. So now my mission is to help harden those marshmallows in an intelligent way.

Anyway, your program is great but honestly, your message is WAY better than any grouping of sets/reps. There are a lot of Scheme Geniuses on HS sidelines these days. But the great coaches are those leaders who understand there is a hell of a lot more to the game than scheme. And at 43 years of age, I have learned that life is the EXACT same way. The kids of London HS are lucky to have you on their sideline